Money doesn't grow on trees – Or does it? How agroforestry system design makes agroforestry more attractive to smallholders in Senegal

In the Sahel region, agroforestry, if upscaled, is a promising land restoration measure to combat the effects of climate change. Beyond its environmental benefits, agroforestry potentially increases crop yields or provides tree products. While the presence and quantity of trees ensures environmental outcomes to a certain degree, the potential economic benefits can only be realized from more sophisticated agroforestry system (AFS) designs. Yet smallholders' preferences for different AFS design concepts and related potential outcomes remain neglected in research focusing on smallholders' adoption behaviour. We want to understand smallholders' preferences for potential agroforestry benefits within their adoption intentions. We aim to compare established adoption determinants for smallholders' willingness to adopt, and willingness to pay (WTP) or willingness to accept compensation (WTA) for three individually suited AFSs design concepts targeting different benefits: environmental benefits; environmental benefits and increased crop yields; environmental benefits, increased crop yields and individually preferred tree products. We interviewed 606 smallholder farmers in the Senegalese Groundnut Basin. Employing an open-ended contingent valuation method, we elicited smallholders' WTP or WTA for the three AFSs. We then employed a Heckman regression for each AFS to analyse smallholders' willingness to adopt and their WTP or WTA for respective system. Several smallholders who initially are unwilling to adopt agroforestry, even for financial compensation, change their stance for an AFS that provides economic benefits. Others switch from an initial compensation demand to being willing to pay. Smallholders who remain reluctant to adopt, state reasons such as a lack of space. The baseline probability of smallholders to be willing to adopt changes from negative for the first AFS to statistically significant and large positive for the third AFS. This suggests, that an economic benefit provision might offset agroforestry adoption constraints detected in past adoption studies. Smallholders WTP increased and WTA decreases with each additional economic benefit of the AFS. Our results suggest a substitutive effect between alternative local income sources and agroforestry adoption. Further smallholders generally perceive agroforestry as a means to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects. Ongoing initiatives should reconsider their policies to design AFSs that align with smallholders' preferences for economic benefits. Agroforestry policies in the Sahel should be designed to aim for increased suitability and profitability of AFSs for smallholders. Further, Non-Governmental Organizations that specialize in agroforestry extension should target the communication of agroforestry as not only environmentally beneficial, but also economically beneficial. Source: Authors' own illustration using icons from Flaticon • Agroforestry boosts yields or provides tree products when tailored to such aims. • We analyse farmers' preferences for agroforestry benefits within adoption intentions. • We use a Heckman approach to analyse data collected in the Senegalese Groundnut Basin. • Designing agroforestry for preferred benefits overcomes adoption constraints. • Outcome oriented agroforestry system design likely boosts uptake and retention.